How Often Should You be Feeding Your Cat?

In feeding your cat, once you find good food that you and your kitty are satisfied with, the only remaining problem is to resist over feeding her. Many cats have normal control over their appetites, but others eat as if it’s their last meal and starvation is right around the corner. Feed too little or the wrong kind of good and your kitty will not maintain good health, feed her too much and she will get too fat. You can get your kitty on the right paw by establishing a good feeding routine.

• Kittens and young cats require more food to support their growth and should be feed more freely and frequently throughout the day. At this stage it is better to provide an excess of food than not enough.

• Once your kitty becomes an adult at about one year, a twice-a-day feeding schedule is appropriate for most cats.

• Pregnant females in the second half of pregnancy and lactating females should have as much food as they want.

• As your kitty ages he will become less active and will need fewer calories to maintain his optimum weight. There are many commercial cat food formulated with fewer calories for a less active cat.

• The health condition of your cat may also depend on what type of food and how often you feed your kitty. If your cat suffers from health problems like diabetes you may need to feed him based upon the insulin injections. When your cat ages, he may develop tooth and gum disease that makes it difficult to chew dry food. At this point offer him wet food or mix water with dry food to make it easy to chew.

• Supersize it? Supersizing food portions are not just a problem for humans. Feeding instruction on pet food labels are based on the needs of the average cat. You may be feeding more or less depending on your cats needs. Whether you feed dry food or canned food you can supply your kitty specific quantities at meal times.

• Free feeding your cat dry food can be ok if your kitty has self-control. Unfortunately some cats like too munch throughout the day and this can add extra pounds. Remember, obesity is considered the number one nutritional disorder in with pets in the United States. Just like humans, extra pounds put our pets at risk for many health conditions including: diabetes, heart disease, joint problems, among others. I will cover cat obesity in a separate link. If your kitty can remain healthy during free feeding than it is acceptable.

• Most importance is to keep a watchful eye on your cats. You must be mindful of your cat’s condition and adjust your kitty’s diet to suit her changing needs.

Premium vs. Supermarket

The AAFCO regulates all the major pet food manufactures so most pet food provides complete and balanced nutrition. But are their differences between premium and supermarket brands? The answer is yes. When feeding your cat most people go with the less costly supermarket food because it is easier on the pocket book. But in actuality you will save money in the long run if you go with a premium cat food, and here is why.